Dustin Penner is having a horrible season with the Los Angeles Kings. Five goals and 13 points in 48 games isn’t the sort of production Dean Lombardi expected when he traded for him, and it isn’t going to earn Penner – in the final year of his contract – good dollars next season.

Should the Oilers try to sign him to a bargain contract?

Penner’s best season came during 2009-10, a trainwreck of a year for virtually everybody on the Oilers. With Ales Hemsky and Nikolai Khabibulin hurt, AHL-calibre ‘tenders in net and Ryan Potulny on the second line, there was a shortage of good news on the team. Dustin Penner’s 32 goals led the Oilers by a mile (nobody else got 20), as did his 63 points (Sam Gagner, with 41, was the only other player with more than 40), and he had a pretty good follow-up season before getting moved to Los Angeles.

There are some other positives. Penner’s still relatively young; he’s not yet 30. He’s a career 12.6% shooter, shooting at a 5.7% clip this year – in other words, his goal-scoring is likely to rebound. Additionally, issues in his personal life have been made public, issues that might have some bearing on his terrible season. That gives some reason to believe he could rebound next season.

On the other hand, a lot of fans didn’t like Penner even when he was the best offensive player in the lineup. Work ethic has always been something that fans and management have identified as an issue – he was Randy Carlyle’s whipping boy in Anaheim, Craig MacTavish had him on a special exercise regimen in Edmonton, and when Dean Lombardi wasn’t criticizing Jack Johnson he found time to toss Penner under the bus too.

Is the risk of getting an impact player on the cheap worthwhile? Or did you see enough the first time around?

Jonathan Willis is a freelance writer.
He currently works for Oilers Nation, Sportsnet, the Edmonton Journal and Bleacher Report.
He's co-written three books and worked for myriad websites, including Grantland, ESPN, The Score, and Hockey Prospectus. He was previously the founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue.

Absolutely. We should try to get some term as well as value contracts will be essential when we make our run. Advanced stats love the guy, hes big, has hands, and can play in the top 6. You can call him lazy and all that but hes come back from adversity, and silenced all the critics in the past. Also has chemistry with hemsky, and is the same age.Hes a good teamate, leader, and loves edmonton. I would try for 1-2 mil for 5 years but idk if hed go for that.

haha oil fan, or should I say Islanders west, do anything relevant last 5 yrs ?

Oddly enough, the Oilers have the EXACT same number of stanley cup victories as the Canucks in that time frame. Even crazier, the Oilers have the EXACT same number of Stanley Cup final appearances as the canucks since the lockout.

pretty sad when the sh** pile oilers stack up against the mighty canucks in something isnt it?

Maybe - I would want to know more about his impact on dressing room chemistry. If he is not particularly disruptive, then I would be happy to sign him.

He could start next year with a clean slate and something to prove. If he is cheap enough, then its not a big deal if he finds himself on the third line for most of the year.

I liked the Penner trade at the time, but I also really like Dustin Penner as a hockey player.

Great point.The mind set in the room has to change from a 29th place team to a contending team.I think this means its time for Hall and Ebs to lead this team and get away from the oldboys club aka Horc,Hemmer,Penner regime.

Thanks - figured that out after the 2nd post. Kinda like arguing with the crack-idled "the end is near" guy handing out flyers. Not very productive.

Im all for fans from other teams reading our site. I`m all for them posting, talking a bit of constructive trash in good taste. Once in while you get a guy making a garbage comment like today, hes ignored, and he never comes back.

I just don`t want this site becoming a garbage site. This is one of the best blogs out there, where people can say their peace, make constructive comments, and have a good read. Just want it to continue.

"Would You Take Dustin Penner Back?" No way. Great guy, hope he gets his game back, but the plan should be develop forwards from within. Seems like "value" players get signed when you're ready to contend.